The Wolf At The Door
by Carnivalgirl
Summary: An accompanying one-shot to 'Blood on the Moon', though should work equally on its own. Remus Lupin's father makes a serious mistake when he lies to Fenrir Greyback about an experiment concerning werewolves...


**A/N:** This is an accompanying one-shot to chapter 2 of 'Blood on the Moon'. The title comes from the saying 'Keep the wolf from the door' which is means 'to avoid starvation or financial ruin'. It comes from The Three Little Pigs. This one-shot was beta-read by the lovely **ladyofthelight101.** Thank you!

**Some other explanations:** I thought if other werewolves before Remus were sterilised, it would explain why, in DH, Remus seems not to know if Teddy will be a werewolf or not. I also added the 'Remus' explanation for fun-while I figure JKR just liked the name 'Remus' better perhaps (and I do too) you have to wonder why parents would choose that name for their kid. The Hippogriff is also intended to be the wizard equivalent of the stork, heh. Anyway, enjoy.

**The Wolf at the Door**

_1976_

It was a January afternoon, and as the sun set and the night drew in the naturalist John Lupin looked forward to going home at last. Today was meant to have been exciting and interesting. He was starting a new experiment, specially funded by the Ministry with hundreds of Galleons, almost triple what he was usually paid. They had heard of his work in the field of Dark creatures and, though they hadn't said it in words, they believed he was the one who could solve their current problems with the _werewolf_ community.

Over the past couple of years a pressure group named Justice for the Half-Blooded had had a massive insurgence of popularity. They had already successfully lobbied the Ministry into making changes to their more restrictive laws on werewolves, such as the sterilisation of males as soon as they were bitten. Now their focus was on the careers law; as it stood, no werewolf was allowed to hold down a job which paid more than three thousand Galleons a year, which meant it was impossible for them to go up in the world. JHB, as they were nick-named, had argued that the aggression associated with werewolves in human form was more a result of constant social oppression than of the condition. Given the right opportunities any werewolf could hold down and perform a job with the same capability as an ordinary person.

The Ministry wanted John to prove them wrong.

It was the offer of a lifetime. The pay was incredible, and the opportunities it could lead to! If all went well he could become an official Ministry scientist, which would mean a massive increase in salary and reputation. He and his wife could afford a bigger house, and more children; their son Remus was always asking them for a new sibling. There was also no reason why he couldn't do it, as he was a capable scientist and within forty-eight hours of the job offer he had had the experiment entirely planned out. The only snag was that they needed a werewolf. And what werewolf would want to participate in such a damning experiment? As such there was only one thing he could do. He placed an advert in the paper;

_Werewolf required for biological research relating to a cure for lycanthropy, lasting two months. Pay of 500 Galleons plus meals. All applications to the Norwich Research Institute of Magizoology._

Today was the day of candidate interview, but despite hundreds of applications _no one _had turned up, and now it was the end of the day. It was bizarre, and he would have to try again. With a flick of his wand his notebooks were neatly assembled in his bag, but as he approached the door a loud knock sounded from it. He felt a sense of relief (though a bit of disappointment that he wouldn't be home in time to listen to Superwizards with Remus) and opened it with a smile.

His face fell immediately. The werewolf standing there was not just any werewolf, but Fenrir Greyback, the infamous leader of the most powerful pack in the country. He was a figure of nightmares, for children and for their parents. It was said he ate raw human flesh, and joked about washing it down with a glass of bone-marrow. Confronting him seemed almost unreal, but...he was an applicant.

"H-hello. Are you here about the advertisement?"

"I am indeed," Greyback said with a smile. His teeth were repulsively yellow. "I take it you recognise me?"

"I...I hear of you, in my line of work."

Greyback looked pleased. "I thought so. Can I come in?"

John took a step back, and invited the man in. He strolled in like he owned the place, and his shabby boots put mud all over his nice clean tiles. Still, at least he wasn't barefoot. He looked a lot less threatening under the bright lights; one could clearly see how worn his clothes were, and how thin he was despite the layers. He looked like he hadn't shaved in some days. His lips were disturbingly red and there were sores around his mouth. He was a disturbing specimen, and yet an interesting one at the same time.

"I'm the first applicant today, aren't I?" he said, looking around at the clean, sterile laboratory.

"How did you know that?"

"I told the others not to come, didn't I. I want this job for myself."

John couldn't hold off his surprise any longer. "Wait a minute. You're one of the most infamous and dangerous werewolves in the country, despite the fact you're only in your twenties. You can't seriously want to be cured."

"Well, to be honest with you, mate,"-John tried not to show his discomfort at a werewolf calling him 'mate'- "I don't. Being a werewolf is...well, you couldn't understand. I'll just say I'd rather die than be cured. But a cure being _available_ has its advantages. If the cowards can back out than only the true wolves, like myself, will remain. Besides...some of the women would like to have children."

John knew from his research that it was impossible for female werewolves to have children. While they could conceive, their unborn babies could never survive the transformations. The majority of males were also sterilised, of course.

"What you're doing is quite noble, then," he said, kindly.

"Thanks, Doc. So have I got the job?"

"I..." John paused for a moment to consider what he was getting into. Fenrir Greyback was an extremely dangerous man, perhaps as dangerous as You-Know-Who. But for Elodie and Remus's sakes, he needed this job. "I suppose you have, yes. Are you able to start immediately?"

"Yep. What time tomorrow?"

John felt his enthusiasm building. "Shall we say nine o'clock?"

"And when will I get paid?"

"When I do, at the end of each month."

Greyback snorted. "Fine. You have a deal. What's your name, anyway, Doc? I can't call you Doc for two months."

"My name is John Lupin," John said, before doing something he could never have previously imagined of himself and shaking Greyback's hand. "I'll see you out now, I must be off."

They walked out into the rain, which wouldn't have been too bad if it wasn't for the wind. While John was locking the door behind him, Greyback said grudgingly, "I suppose you've got a nice warm house with your wife."

"How on earth did you..." John remembered his wedding ring. "Oh. Yes, yes, we-we have a lovely little home..."

"Kids?"

John wasn't sure he wanted him to know, but he had to gain the man's trust. He was lying to him, after all. "Yes, we have a son. He's five. His name's Remus," He paused, expecting a derisive snort. He was probably one of these ignorami who didn't know about the myth.

Instead, he asked; "Why did you name him after the one that died?"

John fought back a smile. It was a question they got all the time. "My wife is French. She decided she'd rather have a son whose name was pronounced 'Rem-oos' in French than 'Ro-moo-loos'."

"I like children," Greyback said. "I wouldn't mind meeting your kid one day,"

It was then that the two men parted company. John went away, wondering if Greyback's liking for children was associated with his sterilisation. It was thoroughly understandable; he couldn't imagine living without Remus.

The next couple of months were above and beyond what John had expected. Greyback was a surprisingly patient subject, mostly because it was he, in a way, who was in charge. He would explain the cravings for raw meat, the appearance of the 'shadow of the wolf', and the 'impulses'. The 'impulses' particularly interested the Ministry, and they sent money at the end of the money, which satisfied scientist and subject. John kept two sets of notes, one fake, and one real. Greyback was constantly treated with various concoctions John pretended he had slaved over his cauldron for, but which were actually the product of Elodie Lupin's stove.

"John," Elodie said one night, while she was making one of these 'potions' out of sliced caterpillars, puffer-fish parts, lacewing flies, basil and Remus's 'No More Tears' Shampoo, as well as getting dinner ready. "This experiment frightens me more and more every day. What if he finds out you've been lying to him? You're not going to produce a cure, are you?"

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Do you think he expects me to? Scientists have been trying to cure lycanthropy for thousands of years to absolutely no avail. He's just in it for the money."

"And the food," she said. "Why cannot you just give him food from the canteen?"

"He says he likes the way you cook meat."

She made a miffed sound and beat the ingredients a bit harder. "I suppose it's easier to make meals for four."

"One day," he told her happily, "or rather, once I've been paid, we'll have a fourth member of our family who _isn't _a werewolf."

She looked more cheerful. "Mmm. Remus wrote a letter to the Hippogriff today asking him to give us a baby. It is so adorable, I've put it in one of the photo albums. I was thinking about telling him the truth, but I don't want to ruin his innocence."

John smirked. "Yes, he's a cherub. By the way..."

"Yes, chéri?"

"You might want to put Remus to bed early. I've invited Fenrir for dinner."

The reason for this invitation, though John would not admit it to Elodie, was that he was afraid Greyback's trust was beginning to wane. There were times when he simply had to rush off to write something down about Greyback's aggressive tendencies or responses to blood, and it was becoming more and more difficult to convince him that these absences were always for his own good. The potions, also, were complete duds. They had no effect whatsoever, except to make him throw up occasionally. That was also something he couldn't keep up for long. Yet at the same time, he was also beginning to feel increasingly sorry for this man. The job was the best income he had had in years. He had never eaten so well either; most of the time Elodie's cooking was his only hot meal. In fact, during the new moon, the time furthest away from either full moon, he began to show tendencies towards such human things as reason, emotion, and, as he could see when he finally introduced Greyback to Elodie, perception of beauty.

"Mademoiselle," he had said (he didn't know much French) before kissing her hand. She had used all her restraint not to recoil from his sore-covered mouth, and rushed to the living room, where Remus was sat in an armchair in front of the fire, eating a yoghurt.

When John entered the room with Greyback, it was a heart-warming image. Remus was tall for his age but still looked tiny in the armchair-his knees didn't hang over the edge. Elodie crouched in front of him and held out her arms.

"Come on chouchou, it's nearly bedtime,"

Greyback raised his eyebrows. "It's only seven o'clock."

Remus puts his arms around her, and his wide brown eyes noticed the stranger watching him closely in the corner of the room. After giving him a frightened glance he turned back to his mother and whispered; "Mama, who's that man?"

Elodie looked like she wanted to hurry him off to bed, but John insisted on introducing them.

"This is Mr Greyback, Remus. He works with me at my lab."

Greyback gave the small boy a brown-yellow smile. His eyes were lit up. "I'm pleased to meet you, Remus. Your daddy's told me a lot about you."

Remus looked terrified; he was very shy with all adults, and Greyback was scary-looking by anyone's standards. His father tried to give him an encouraging look.

"I don't bite," Greyback said in a slightly sinister tone, smiling even more. Once Remus finally squeaked a very quiet "Hello", his mother rushed him away, and returned several minutes later looking even more worried than she had been.

Dinner was, for the most part, a fairly peaceful affair, even though it was John who made most of the conversation. They had French wine, and Greyback was especially thrilled to have pudding, even though it was just ice cream with Remus's favourite yoghurt poured over it and some almonds. Unfortunately, the night didn't end there, as Greyback, instead of preparing to leave after dinner, headed straight for the living room. John was cheerfully about to follow him when Elodie put her hand firmly on his shoulder.

"When is he going to leave?"

Her husband rolled his eyes, and calmly explained; "Dearest, you don't invite people to dinner and then ask them to leave as soon as they've had the last mouthful. I..._we _need this man to trust me. For the money...for Remus's brother or sister." He smiled, but she didn't look convinced. "...I'll make sure he's gone by ten."

A scene like any other developed in the living room. Greyback, like most of their other house guests, quickly spotted their vast collection of photo albums (they got a bit carried away with Remus's baby pictures) and they were soon browsing the most recent. It was both meaningful and slightly uncomfortable for John to show Greyback this aspect of their lives, because from every angle it was miles away from anything he would ever have. He especially liked the pictures of Remus; again, probably because of the sterilisation issue. Another advantage was that they made Elodie a lot happier.

"This one," she said, "was when we went to the beach last weekend. Remus was very happy when we found a crab, and he wanted to take it home, though of course we could not. So we made up for it with these...huge ice creams!"

"Can't remember the last time I had one of those." Greyback said, before turning the page. There were no photos, only a letter that had only been placed in the album this afternoon.

_Deer Hippo Griff_

_I wood like you to give us a new babby my mama and daddy sayed its to much munny but we have more munny now daddy has a job with the ministary working with warewulf peepul we like boy babys and girl babys so you can desside pleez come soon we will love the baby very much _

_love from Remus _

An excruciating silence fell in the room. The only sound that could be heard was Elodie's breath starting to quicken, as she realised what was about to happen. After a slow couple of seconds Greyback, with the speed of a predator, grabbed John by the neck of his robes. Elodie shrieked.

"You've been working for the _Ministry_!"

John was so petrified, he looked like he would be sick. He had thought that this moment would come, but he never imagined it in his own home, or that it'd be Remus who revealed the secret. "They-they wanted a cure for lycanthro..."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Greyback bellowed. His eyes had turned a shade of yellow-the shadow of the wolf. He shook the other man as if he were a doll; his strength was incredible. "The only way the Ministry wants to cure werewolves is to KILL THEM! My guess is they wanted you to find them a reason to do it. Yeah, that makes sense! That explains the CRAP potions," With this he launched a punch into the man's stomach. "And the goddamn BLOOD TESTS..."

He was about to punch John again when Elodie grabbed his arm.

"Please," she begged, tears pouring down her lovely face. "Don't hurt him...he only wanted to provide for the family..."

Greyback lowered her husband and turned to glare at her. "Woman, this man has made me betray my own species, my own pack, for nothing. You cannot understand how much that hurts me. Hurting him is the only way I can preserve my own dignity."

By this time John had removed his wand, and was pointing it at his enemy.

"I'm giving you an ultimatum...leave now or I hex you and call the Aurors!" He was doing his best to sound brave, but his voice was strained and shaky. Greyback simply leant forward and snapped the wand in half.

"I've met the Aurors before," he said. "They know better now than to cross with me. Shame you couldn't follow their example."

There was a split second of agony before the inevitable attack. Elodie covered her eyes with terror. John mouthed a prayer. Greyback's mouth watered, and he flexed his long-nailed hands. But then...

There was a sound at the door. Something between a knock and a scratch, and with it a tiny, frightened voice.

"Mama? Daddy? What's the noise for?"

Immediately Greyback paused. Whether this was a pause of sentimentality, or a pause like that of a hunting dog catching a scent, was not possible to tell. He stood up straight, and his muscles relaxed. He stared at the door.

"Attacking a man in front of his child..." he whispered, fully aware of their audience. "Maybe that's beneath me. Besides..." he gave his victim, or the man who thought he was the victim and was very close to fainting, a scrutinising gaze. "looking at you, you're not even a decent kill."

Elodie and John were both unsure how to react. Their eyes met in terror as the voice behind the door continued.

"Mama? Daddy?"

Greyback looked at the door again. "We're keeping that poor little mite awake. You'd better put him back to bed, Mum."

With those words, it was over, for the time being. Elodie let out a sob, but wiped her tears on her sleeve and hurried out of the room. The two men left behind could hear them outside, including a bewildered "Mama, your make-up's gone funny."

John knew his face was soaked with tears. He couldn't put the emotions he felt at that moment into words; it was a strange combination of blissful relief and complete and utter horror.

"You've let me live..." he said hoarsely. "You were going to kill me, but you..."

The shadow of the wolf had gone, and a familiar face spoke softly back to him.

"I don't think you know as much about werewolves as you think you do, Doctor. If you did, you'd know that sometimes, death is the easy option."

That seemed to be the last word from him that night, until, that is, they received the money John had paid him, with a letter in red ink.

_I cannot keep this money knowing it came from the Ministry. Use it wisely. Try to keep the wolf from the door._


End file.
